Theresa May cancels family's British citizenship

A British-born man and his three grown-up sons have been stripped of their citizenship by Theresa May, the Home Secretary over alleged terrorism links.

The 51-year-old man, who was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and his London-born sons, who are all in their twenties, had their British nationality rescinded two years ago while they were out of the country.

Mrs May’s decision was upheld by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) but now the father, who can only be identified as ‘S1’, has claimed they are “innocent of all the allegations”.

They are now living in Pakistan, where S1's parents were born.

S1 admitted his daughter had travelled to Syria with a jihadist but he told the Sunday Times newspaper that she did so without his knowledge.

The father said he and his sons had been unfairly accused of supporting terrorism because of his daughter’s actions.

In a ruling from 2012, Siac heard S1 and his sons – known as T1, U1 and V1 – were linked with al-Qaeda.

“The Secretary of State alleges that the appellants are active members of Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT) and … that they have links to al-Qaeda,” says the Siac ruling.

“LeT is a proscribed organisation which seeks the detachment of … part of Kashmir below the line of control from India by violent means.

“The Security Service allege that the appellants have provided LeT with financial support, are committed Islamist extremists and may have undertaken terrorist training.”

Speaking publicly about the case for the first time, S1 said: “We are innocent of all the allegations but our situation prevents us from answering the allegations.

“We are British through and through. I grew up watching programmes like On the Buses and the Benny Hill Show.”

The documents reveal the decision to deprive the men of their British nationality was taken personally by Mrs May.

The four had flown to Pakistan in 2009 and “retained no home or business in the United Kingdom” when Mrs May made her decision in April 2011, the papers add.

A fourth son, who is disabled, and S1’s wife are not affected by the decision to remove the family’s British nationality.

However, they remain at the family’s properties in the Sheikhpura district of Pakistan because they wish to remain with their relatives.

Siac has the power to hear evidence in secret, in a system which prohibits the accused and their lawyers from knowing the evidence against them.

Instead, they are represented by “special advocates” who have been vetted by the security services.

Rachel Robinson, of the human rights organisation Liberty, criticised legislation which has allowed the Home Secretary to strip British citizens of their nationality “without telling them why”.